By Betsy Veysman

When he was a student at Plainedge High, Craig Vitagliano remembers getting really excited for the All-Star dual between Nassau and Suffolk after the scholastic season.

“It was a premier event when I was in high school,” he said.  “We definitely all looked forward to getting out and wrestling the Suffolk guys.”

After an absence of a few years, the competition returned Tuesday night at Bay Shore High School as the Suffolk wrestlers edged their Long Island neighbors in freestyle action, 32-31.

Although the Section 8 team won eight of the 15 bouts, Suffolk was sparked to victory by a pair of pins courtesy of Westhampton Beach’s Alex Tanzman at 106 pounds and Sachem North’s Gio Santiago at 182.

The event began at 100 pounds where Jesse Dellavechia of East Islip got Suffolk out to a 3-1 lead with a three period victory over Chris Donnelly.

Then it was time for Tanzman and Jose Rodriguez to take the mat.

The two had met in the semifinals of the state tournament in Albany at 99 pounds, with the Wantagh freshman earning a 6-1 win on his way to a runner up finish.  After the loss, Tanzman rebounded to take third and he was excited about another chance against Rodriguez.

“I wrestled okay at states but I felt like I didn’t wrestle to my fullest potential and I could have done better against him,” Tanzman said.  “I really was looking forward to a rematch.”

Rodriguez asserted himself early with a quick takedown and exposure for a 3-0 advantage.  But Tanzman responded with a headlock and throw for a first period pin to give Suffolk an 8-1 lead in the team score.

Next up at 113 pounds was a pair of 2012 state placers, Krishna Sewkumar of Long Beach for Nassau and Joe Calderone for Suffolk.  After splitting the first two periods, Sewkumar took control in the final stanza, with a quick point off a duck under.  He added a takedown with less than 15 seconds to go to pull Section 8 within 9-4.

The score became 10-7 after former Fargo freestyle runner up Mark Raghunandan (Nassau) defeated Eric Orellana in two periods.  The Long Beach wrestler scored late in the first and fought off a late charge from Orellana to win 2-1.  In the second, Raghunandan got a go behind takedown and several turns to cruise 6-0.

The teams then alternated victories over the next four bouts.  For Suffolk, Mike D’Angelo won a tough three period battle over Jack Reina at 126 and Jacob Restrepo swept Quinn Knauer at 138.  For Nassau, Chris Araoz topped Connor O’Hara 3-0, 2-1 at 132 while Justin Paradiso pinned Thomas Dutton.

In that 145 pound bout, Dutton got on the board first with a 3-0 lead just 30 seconds into the match.  Paradiso, who was injured in Section 8 finals this year, answered with three to tie things up with a minute to go and then hit a big throw to get the fall and knot the team score at 17 apiece.

“I knew he was as a younger kid, so there’s a pride thing. I didn’t want to lose to him,” Paradiso said.  “He scored the first three points on me and I needed to step up. I felt him leaning and my last shot was just there.”

“Justin’s a competitor,” Vitagliano added. “He tore his ankle at counties and came back two weeks ago at the Wyoming Seminary duals and went 3-0.  Dutton’s a good wrestler. At the end of the day I thought Justin would win, but I wouldn’t have predicted a fall.”

So after eight matches, it was tied.  But thanks to James Dekrone, Suffolk took the lead for good at 152 pounds.  The John Glenn 138-pound state champion beat Lou Hernandez of Mepham in a tight three period match, which was followed by another Section 11 victory, this time by state runner up Tyler Grimaldi over one of his current training partners, Dan McDevitt, to make the score 23-19.

With the late scratch of Dylan Palacio, McDevitt moved into the 160 slot and Dan Tracy stepped in at 170.  Tracy, who agreed to participate the morning of the event, got Nassau back on track with a triumph over Zak Mullen, who took fourth at the state tournament.  Mullen dominated the first period, but Tracy responded in the last two stanzas.  He overcame a deficit in the third to win 7-2 and tighten the overall score to 24-22.

“Dan was literally a last minute fill in,” Vitagliano said. “He didn’t really practice this week because of other commitments and it was impressive that he went out and beat a state placer.”

Just two points separated the teams, but only briefly, as Gio Santiago made sure that gap widened quickly.  The Sachem North junior hit a big move for a fall to put Section 11 ahead 29-22.

It was the last win for Suffolk, however.  Chris Loew (195), Andrew Cole (220) and Dante Salkey (285) all earned victories for Nassau in the final three matches.

In fact, going into the heavyweight bout, Section 11 led 31-28 with Salkey taking on Mike Hughes in a rematch of the fifth place tilt in Albany.  Salkey earned the victory, as he did at the Times Union Center, but since Hughes scored during the match, he earned a team point as well, leading to the 32-31 final.

While he was disappointed with the outcome, Vitagliano felt that the level of competitiveness was high.

“I think for Nassau it’s a moral victory,” he said.  “It was so close and we actually won one more match.  Suffolk is the perennial champs; the best in the state.  But I think we’re closing the gap on them, breathing down their necks and [the event] is evidence of that.”

On top of the rivalry, Vitagliano felt that the event promoted the development of freestyle on Long Island.

“The goal is to create exposure for freestyle,” he said. “It’s all about getting the kids more matches and hopefully getting them out to Fargo.  Kids get better when they’re wrestling better competition.  It gives the kids a break from the grind of folkstyle and teaches new throws, new techniques. These days, if they want exposure to college coaches, wrestling freestyle is really important.”

Vitagliano wished to thank the many people who put the event together in a short two weeks, including Marcia Haise, Mike Leonard, Paul Gillespie, Ted DePasquale and several high school coaches in both Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Match-by-Match Results

100    Jesse Dellavecchia (S) over Chris Donnelly (N) in 3 periods

106    Alex Tanzman (S) over Jose Rodriguez (N) by fall

113    Krishna Sewkumar (N) over Joe Calderone (S) in 3 periods

120    Mark Raghunandan (N) over Eric Orellana (S)

126    Mike D’Angelo (S) over Jack Reina (N) in 3 periods

132    Chris Araoz (N) over Connor O’Hara (S)

138    Jacob Restrepo (S) over Quinn Knauer (N)

145    Justin Paradiso (N) over Thomas Dutton (S) by fall

152    James Dekrone (S) over Lou Hernandez (N) in 3 periods

160    Tyler Grimaldi (S) over Dan McDevitt (N)

170    Dan Tracy (N) over Zak Mullen (S) in 3 periods

182    Gio Santiago (S) over John Luxmore (N) by fall

195    Chris Loew (N) over Zach Connor (S)

220    Andrew Cole (N) over Ken Drew (S)

285    Dante Salkey (N) over Mike Hughes (S)

Check out our video interviews with five of the Empire State’s FloNationals All-Americans below.

126:

Fourth place Maverick Passaro (Eastport South Manor)

Sixth place Sam Speno (Fox Lane)

160: Eighth place Rrok Ndokaj (Monsignor Farrell)

170: Eighth place Zach Zupan (Canastota)

182: Eighth place McZiggy Richards (Wingate)

220: Fourth place Patryk Kopczynski (Brooklyn Tech)

285:

Third place Cole Lampman (Shenendehowa)

Fourth place Cory Quintana (Mohonasen)

Sean McCabe, Dylan Palacio and Tony Lock all earned New York State titles a month ago in Albany.  On Sunday, all three will have an opportunity to become national champions as well, as they take the mat in the finals of the NHSCA Senior Nationals in Virginia Beach.

Connequot’s McCabe, who rebounded from a third place showing at the Suffolk County tournament to capture gold at the Times Union Center, won three tight matches, 6-4, 4-1, and 4-3 to begin the event before emphatically punching his ticket to the title bout with a pin over Delaware’s Kaleb Lemaire in the third period.

UPDATE: Rodriguez notched multiple takedowns on his way to a 7-4 victory.

Fellow Long Island grappler Palacio began the event with a 6-4 decision over Tyler McMichael of Kansas before notching a 9-1 victory over California’s Taylor McCormick.  The Long Beach grappler next edged Kyle Ash of Oklahoma, 4-3 and then registered two commanding major decisions, 16-3 over Samson Imonode of Arizona in the quarters and 15-4 against Minnesota’s Ben Sullivan in the semis.

UPDATE: Palacio wasted very little time against Austin Trott of Georgia, going on the attack from the opening whistle.  He got on the board first with a go behind for a takedown and remained in control on top to end the first period 2-0.  In the second, Palacio selected bottom.  Trott had a strong ride, but the Long Beach wrestler continued to work until he earned the reversal in the latter portion of the middle period to take a 4-0 advantage into the third.  The Georgia grappler notched a quick escape, but Palacio continued pushing the action and scored another TD off a front headlock to move ahead 6-1.  Trott’s escape made it 6-2 and that was the final.  Congratulations to Palacio on a national title!

Like Palacio, Pioneer’s Tony Lock was an undefeated state titlewinner this season.  Lock kept his unbeaten streak alive with four consecutive wins.  He began with a technical fall over Aaron Wing of Connecticut and followed with a pair of 3-2 decisions over Gray Jones of Georgia and Bryan Loughlin of New Jersey.  The Buffalo-bound senior then used back points to earn a 6-3 victory over nationally ranked Reece Wright-Conklin of Kansas to cement his spot in tomorrow’s finale.

UPDATE: Lock and Oklahoma’s Nolan Boyd ended the first period scoreless.  In the second, Lock chose bottom and fought off tilt attempts on the edge.  Off a restart, he made a quick first move and was able to get the reversal.  Boyd responded with a reversal of his own and Lock escaped to take a 3-2 lead into the third.  Boyd got out from bottom to tie the score and the bout went to overtime.

In sudden victory, both wrestlers were cautious, although there was a solid flurry with about 10 seconds to go.  Lock took down in the first tiebreaker and was able to escape after a Granby roll.  The Pioneer wrestler also received an additional point for a locked hands call on Boyd.  Boyd escaped when it was his turn on bottom, but Lock held on for a 5-4 victory and a national championship!

Several other New York wrestlers earned All-American status. For a complete list, see below:

106:

Third place Eric Orellana (Brentwood) 

Fifth place Krishna Sewkumar (Long Beach)

Seventh place Jimmy Gill (St. John the Baptist)

113:

Fifth place Mark Raghunandan (Long Beach)

Eighth place Patrick Skinner (Kellenberg)

120: Second place Sean McCabe (Connetquot)

138: Fifth place James Dekrone (John Glenn)

152: Champion Dylan Palacio (Long Beach)

160: Fifth place Tristan Hamner (Medina)

182: Champion Tony Lock (Pioneer)

NHSCA Nationals Middle School Division – Virginia Beach, VA

National Champions from New York

80 Pounds: Dane Heberlein

Heberlein fall Jarrod Kimball (SC), 1:48

Heberlein tech fall Brock Talko (PA), 16-1

Heberlein decision Zachary Sherman (FL), 6-4 ot

Final: Heberlein major Joshua Humphreys (WV), 10-2

90 Pounds: Kelan McKenna

McKenna fall Jarred Stoy (PA), 0:42

McKenna decision Kahlan Lee-Lermer (MD), 6-1

McKenna major Micah Crewdson (WV), 9-1

Final: McKenna major Dakota Galt (ND), 9-1

119 Pounds: Chris Mauriello

Mauriello decision Casey Ritchie (WV), 10-3

Mauriello tech fall Danny Mullan (NJ), 15-0

Mauriello decision Kellen Devlin (NY), 4-0

Final: Mauriello decision Kollin Wade (SC), 4-2

154 Pounds: Jordan Torbitt

Torbitt fall Wes Sorey (VA), 3:49

Torbitt fall Adam Soldridge (PA), 2:48

Final: Torbitt fall Caperton Humphrey (WV), 1:44

165 Pounds: Nick McShea

McShea decision Koree Morgan (SC), 6-2

McShea fall Tyler Kleinhans (OH), 0:35

McShea decision Ryan Mills (WV), 9-3

Final: McShea major Brandon White (WV), 12-0

Five Empire State wrestlers will wrestle for national titles on Friday, March 30 in Virginia Beach at the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) championships.  Friday is the final day of competition in the Freshman, Sophomore and Junior divisions.  Action in the Senior brackets just got underway on Friday morning and will continue through Sunday, April 1.

Former state champion and three-time placer Tristan Rifanburg of Norwich dropped a decision to Neal Richards at 126 in the championship bout in the Freshman competition.  Rifanburg picked up five victories on his way to the finals, three by bonus points.  He edged Michael Monica of New Jersey 3-2 in Thursday night’s semifinals.

UPDATE: In the championship bout, Richards came out fast in the first period, taking Rifanburg down for a 2-0 lead.  The New York wrestler began the second period on top and worked for turns, but was unable to pick up  nearfall.  The grapplers started the third in neutral.  Rifanburg looked to score but was countered by Richards for another takedown.  Richards tacked on one more late in the third to earn a national championship.

A pair of Empire State sophomores will also wrestle on the biggest stage.

Corey Rasheed of Longwood followed up his strong 35-3 season at 145 pounds with a convincing run at Virginia Beach.  After a 10-4 decision to start the competition, Rasheed registered three straight pins in the first period to reach the semis.  He then defeated Josh Ortman of Pennsylvania 9-2 to move on to this afternoon’s finale against Larry Bomstad of Minnesota.

UPDATE: Rasheed and Bomstad traded shots early in the first, but no points were put on the board until late in the opening period when Bomstad hit a double, getting the takedown and three nearfall for a 5-0 lead.  Rasheed started on bottom in the second and earned a reversal at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 5-2.  The Minnesota wrestler chose top to begin the final period, but Rasheed was able to escape midway through.  Bomstad stayed on the attack, earning a takedown as time wound down to earn the 7-3 decision.

Burke Paddock is no stranger to the finals at NHSCAs.   Last year, he captured the 171-pound title in this event and he was third at the New York States this year at 170.  Paddock moved down to 160 pounds and has breezed through so far, with his closest match being an 11-2 major over fellow New Yorker Tyler Silverthorn in the semifinals.  He also has two falls and a technical fall.  His competitor will be New Jersey bronze medalist (at 152) Jonathan Schleifer.

UPDATE: Paddock came out aggressive, but Schleifer got on the board first with a takedown off the Warsaw wrestler’s shot.  After a quick escape, Paddock tried for a throw, but Schleifer countered for another TD.  Paddock escaped again to trail 4-2 after the first.  The New Jersey grappler took bottom and quickly widened  his advantage to 5-2.  Paddock was close to scoring on a single, but was unable to convert before the second ended.  In the third, Paddock chose down but could not escape until less than 10 seconds remained.  Schleifer grabbed a 5-3 victory.

There are also two juniors representing the Empire State in the title matches.  Chris Araoz of Wantagh had a solid season for the Warriors with a 37-5 record but did not qualify for the state tournament.  He has responded with five wins over the past few days, including an 8-3 decision over Deshun Brown of New Mexico to reach the finals against Georgia’s Philip Anderson.

UPDATE: Araoz got in deep on a shot late in the first period.  Anderson fought it off briefly, but Araoz was able to finish and get the tilt for three nearfall with short time left to take a 5-0 lead after one.  In the middle period, the Wantagh wrestler took top and tried for another turn.  However, his opponent escaped to cut the lead. Anderson shot a deep double toward the end of the period, but Araoz was able to prevent the takedown as time expired to take a 5-1 advantage into the final period.  In the third, the Georgia grappler selected top and was able to break Araoz down.   Araoz was called for stalling three times, resulting in two points.  With the score 5-2, Araoz escaped and the Long Island wrestler won the 120 pound title, 6-3.  Great performance for the Wantagh junior.

The last New Yorker battling for a crown is Peru’s Troy Seymour at 170 pounds.  Seymour took fourth in a deep class in Albany, in which he split matches with the aforementioned Paddock.  Seymour finished the high school campaign at 40-2.  He began the competition at NHSCAs with a technical fall but then demonstrated his ability to win close bouts, earning 3-0, 1-0 and 8-7 triumphs before beating Chris Moore of Ohio 5-2 in the semis.  He will face Ethan Ramos of New Jersey on Friday afternoon.

UPDATE: Seymour and Ramos battled to a scoreless draw in the first period, during which Seymour fought off two deep shot attempts by his opponent on the edge.  Seymour took down in the second and Ramos rode tough, not allowing the Peru wrestler to escape.  After an injury timeout, the third period began with Ramos in the bottom position.  Seymour worked for backs and was able to break the Garden State grappler down for a while.  However, while he worked for a turn, Ramos was able to get the reversal and back points, leading to a fall.

For a list of New York placewinners, see below:

FRESHMAN DIVISION

106: Eighth place Kyle Quinn (Wantagh)

113: Sixth place Anthony Orefice (Lockport) 

126: Second place Tristan Rifanburg (Norwich)

132: Seventh place Jakob Restrepo (Sachem East)

138: Third place Thomas Dutton (Rocky Point)

152: Seventh place Nathan Schwab (Clarence)

160: Eighth place Nick Wentland (Minisink Valley)

182: Sixth place Garrett Duval (Sherburne-Earlville)

195: Eighth place Cody Marshall (Sherburne-Earlville)

SOPHOMORE DIVISION

145: Second place Corey Rasheed (Longwood)

152: Fourth place Michael Pistone (Sachem East)

152: Seventh place Derek Holcomb (Newark Valley)

160: Second place Burke Paddock (Warsaw)

160: Fourth place Tyler Silverthorn (General Brown)

160: Fifth place Franky Nassivera (Queensbury) 

160: Eighth place Daniel Smith (South Jefferson) 

195: Sixth place Reggie Williams (Johnson City)

285:  Third place James O’Hagan (Seaford)

JUNIOR DIVISION

106: Fifth place Kyle Kelly (Chenango Forks)

120: Champion Chris Araoz (Wantagh)

120: Sixth place TJ Fabian (Shoreham Wading River)

138: Fifth place Dan McDevitt (Wantagh)

152: Seventh place Chris Koo (Great Neck)

160: Fourth place Tyler Grimaldi (Half Hollow Hills West)

170: Second place Troy Seymour (Peru)

220: Fourth place Nick Lupi (Huntington) vs. Eldon Valery (VA)

285: Fourth place Brandon Fayle (Lowville) vs. Joe Bexley (GA)

285: Sixth place El Shaddai VanHoesen (Columbia) vs. Jonah Aurelio (RI)